Testosterone Shots

HAVE ANY OF YOU LADIES HEARD OF TAKING THE TESTOSTERONE SHOTS? MY DR. SUGESTED THEM BEFORE SHE QUIT PRACTICE, SHE GAVE ME A PRESCRIPTION FOR IT BUT I NEVER DID GO BACK AND HAVE HER GIVE ME THE SHOT. SHE QUIT PRACTICING, ON ACCOUNT OF HEALTH PROBLEMS, THE DR I USE NOW DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE ON WHAT TO DO.AND I HAVEN'T MENTION IT TO HER YET. SHE TOLD ME THAT TO MUCH TESTOSTERONE WILL MAKE YOU GROW FACIAL HAIR AND WILL ALSO INCREASE CHANCE OF HEART ATTACK. MY HUSBAND GETS ANGRY BECAUSE I WANT TRY THE SHOTS. I BEEN READING ALOT ABOUT THE BIO IDENTICAL HARMONES, SO GUESS I WILL ASK HER ABOUT THEM. I HAVE NOTICED ON THE WEB SITE THAT THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE,DOES ANYONE KNOW IF INSUREANCE WILL PAY ON BIO IDENTICAL HARMONES?THANKS EVERYONE.
CAROL

You can get side effects and bad reactions with excessive amounts of testosterone, like the professional athletes and bodybuilders use. We don't need manly doses of it, but just need it to replace that which we no longer produce. Remember that our bodies used to always produce testosterone and it actually helps us in so many ways. Our bodies weren't made to be without it!

There are testosterone gels and patches in addition to the compounded creams. Your insurance may pay for one of the three; once your doctor researches the options for you, you or the doc can call the insurance and find out what is covered.

If your doctor is not familiar with testosterone supplementation, you could find a compounding pharmacist and ask your doctor to discuss dosages with him or her. You could also ask your doctor to research it for you or give you a referral to someone more familiar with testosterone supplementation.

Why is your husband upset? Is he worried about the side effects of overdose?

Originally posted by DeniseB There are testosterone gels and patches in addition to the compounded creams.

Well, it's true that patches and gels with testosterone exist; however, none of them are, at this time, FDA approved for use in women. The patches are too large to be used for women (way too high a dose) and the gels come in single dose packets designed for a man, which means if a woman is to use them she needs to somehow divide them into smaller portions. Posts in the Hormone Jungle from ladies who do this have stated that it's very hard to estimate how much you're getting because the gels ooze around and there's no measurement device with them. Also, most insurance companies won't cover off label uses of prescription meds, which is what these amount to when prescribed for women. Of course there are ways around that, but... it's not imho the optimal choice.

My insurance pays for them. My co-pay is $10.00 for the bio-identical, compounded that is formulated just for me or I could pay $35.00 for the pharmaceutical, one-size-fits-all (NOT).

As for the testosterone shots, I haven't tried them because I'm afraid of getting too much (my body is very sensitive) but I know some women who swear by them. Me personally, I'm very happy with the testosterone creme that I rub into my inner thigh twice a week. It works well for me, I can adjust the dosage and my cardiologist says it's safe for me.

If you go to a compounding pharmacy they will work with you and your doctor on the info about compounded hormones. My total for ALL my Rx's is only $26.50 a month. Of course, even that makes me mad because I was unaware of continuing hormone issues that I would face after surgery, but at least it's a LOT less than I was paying and a LOT more effective!

I have never tried testosterone shots, and would personally be leery about doing so. Once the dose is in your body there is nothing you can do to tweak or adjust the way one can with compounded/bioidentical testosterone; and, if you have side effects from the shot....all you can do is wait for the dosage to wear off.

I use bioidentical hormones, including compounded testosterone cream, and for the same reasons (((Lucille))) has mentioned I feel safe using it. It's very rare for adverse side effects to occur with compounded testosterone cream, as the doses are mixed according to how much your body--- a woman's body-- needs.

In my opinion, you are on the right track in exploring what your options may be with bioidentical replacement. A lot of members have found a reliable compounding pharmacy in their area by going to this compounding pharmacy locater: www.iacprx.org

Compounding pharmacists work often with doctors who are familiar with bioidentical HRT, and if they are not all that familiar, the compounding pharmacist can help you by helping to educate your doctor in how to prescribe them.

You are your own best advocate when it comes to your hormone/health choices. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Originally posted by DeniseB There are testosterone gels and patches in addition to the compounded creams. Your insurance may pay for one of the three; once your doctor researches the options for you, you or the doc can call the insurance and find out what is covered.

If your doctor is not familiar with testosterone supplementation, you could find a compounding pharmacist and ask your doctor to discuss dosages with him or her. You could also ask your doctor to research it for you or give you a referral to someone more familiar with testosterone supplementation.

Why is your husband upset? Is he worried about the side effects of overdose?

HE IS UPSET BECAUSE I HAD A COMPLETE HESTORECTOMY IN 1995, AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET MY DR. TO HELP ME WITH THE PROBLEM OF SEXUAL DISFUCTION. I HAVEN'T HEARD OF THE BIOIDENTICAL HARMONES UNTILL I FOUND THIS WEB SITE.I TALK TO MY DR. ABOUT MY PROBLEM AND ALSO MY OBGYN DR. BUT I AM WAISTING MY TIME WITH THEM, THEY REALLY ACT LIKE THEY HAVE KNOW CLUE ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.I AM TO GO BACK NEXT WEEK SO I AM GOING TO MENTION THE BIOIDENTICAL AND SEE WHAT KIND OF RESPONCE I CAN GET.MAYBE SHE WILL KNOW ABOUT THEM.
LINDA

When I was dealing with doctors who didn't have a clue, three books changed everything for me:

The first book, "Misinformed Consent" by Lise Cloutier-Steele showed me that (1) It wasn't all in my head, like my doc wanted me to believe and (2) I wasn't alone in these problems.

Then I read, "The Hysterectomy Hoax" by Dr. Stanley West and I understood the science behind hysterectomy and oophorectomy (removal of ovaries). This book also showed me that there ARE doctors who understand what was going on with me and that my doctor was, indeed, as clueless as I was beginning to suspect. With this book in hand, I set about finding a doctor who could really help me.

The last book that I found really helpful is called "Your Guide to Hysterectomy, Ovary Removal, & Hormone Replacement" by Elizabeth Plourde. Finally, a book that puts the hormone issue into simple, easy to understand language.

These books made all the difference in the world for me. They gave me the language, tools, understanding and knowledge to take charge of my health and find the right doctors who could help me. I believe if I hadn't read the first one, I wouldn't be here today. (Bless Lise)

It was after these books that I found Hyster Sisters and the support of all the great women on here. Only women who have been through this can truly understand what it's like. (Yet we need to be careful and not compare apples to bananas since many of our surgeries and procedures are quite different.) Come here for support and encouragement, but also educate yourself on YOUR condition and possible treatments available for you. When YOU understand what is happening in your body, then you can find a doctor or nurse practitioner who will work WITH you to get you feeling as well as possible.

I found that my GYN knows NOTHING
about natural hormone replacement, knows NOTHING about the slyvia testing, knows
almost nothing about anything beside
the "standard".

He is a wonderful surgeon,
really cares about his patients , but still knows NOTHING that can help
me with this issue.

So I switched to someone who does!

I found me a really good compounding pharmacist who gave me some recommendations on physicians who are in the know about natural hormones and such, and
women's sexual problems following a hysterectomy.

I also am connected along the years with a nurse practitioner who is learning about all this along with me. (The Nurse practitioner is NOT with the GYN.)